Aplomb began on maternity leave.

Hi — I’m Manasa, Aplomb’s founder and, for now, its entire team.

When I became a mum, my world got beautifully, exhaustingly small. For more than a year there were no standups, no coffee chats, no dinners with friends — the longest conversations in my day were with someone who couldn’t talk back yet.

When it was time to step back into the world, I noticed something I didn’t expect: conversation is a muscle, and mine was out of practice. I’d rehearse simple things in my head — a catch-up call, an introduction, asking for what I needed — and still feel the words wobble on the way out. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten how to talk. It was that I’d lost the reps.

I didn’t need another book about communication. I needed somewhere to practice out loud — where the stakes were zero, nobody was watching, and I could say the hard thing badly five times so I could say it well when it counted.

That place didn’t exist. So I built it.

What Aplomb believes

Confidence comes from reps, not tips. Reading advice never changed how anyone sounds under pressure. Speaking does — which is why every part of Aplomb happens out loud, in real time, against a conversation partner that pushes back.

Honest feedback is a form of respect. The score never flatters you, because a number you can’t trust can’t help you. When it moves, it’s because you did.

Practice should be private. The whole point is a judgment-free room. You can start without an account, your voice is never stored, and your practice belongs to you alone.

The company

Aplomb is made by Cherry Home Unipessoal Lda., an independent one-person company. No investors to impress, no growth team, no engagement tricks — just one founder who needed this app to exist, building it carefully for everyone else who does too.

If Aplomb helps you say the thing you’ve been carrying around, I’d genuinely love to hear about it.

— Manasa J Bhat, founder